The river Chimalapa, on the southern boundary, which falls into the

bay of Tecoantepec, and several smaller ones along the coast, all

of which proceed from the mountains, water the country, render it

fertile, and also fall into the Pacific.

_YUCATAN OR THE INTENDANCY OF MERIDA._

YUCATAN is the most easterly province of the kingdom of New Spain,

and is in the form of a peninsula, jutting out into the gulf of

Mexico from the main land of the isthmus; it is surrounded on the

north-west by the waters of the Mexican gulf; by the bay or gulf

of Honduras on the south-east; the province of Vera Cruz bounds it

on the south-west, and Vera Paz in Guatimala on the south. Here it

is connected with the continent of North America, by an isthmus of

about 120 miles in breadth. The English have settlements extending

a short distance along the east coast of Yucatan, opposite

Ambergris Key.

The soil of this peninsula is very prolific, and when under proper

cultivation, produces great crops of corn, maize, indigo and

cotton. The climate is hot, their summer beginning in April and

finishing in September, but January and February are very warm

months, the rest of the winter cooler, and little or no rain falls

throughout that season. The north side is the pleasantest, for

although very hot, it is refreshed by gentle breezes; on the whole

the climate of Yucatan is not an unhealthy one. It produces and

sustains vast quantities of cattle, fowls, and bees; honey and wax,

are therefore plenty; and its forests afford shelter to various

kinds of wild beasts. It has no mines, for which reason it is not

much settled by the whites, the chief part of its inhabitants being

Indians, who are employed in making salt in Campeachy Bay, and are

subject to the Spaniards. On the coasts of Yucatan, large pieces

of amber are frequently found. There is a ridge of considerable

mountains pervades the whole extent of this province, which extends

from the eastern side at Merida to the western extremity of the

peninsula; on this range of mountains, the climate is very fine,

and it is asserted that the natives live to a great age. On the

north side of this chain the land is refreshed with breezes, and

contains plenty of springs; but the southern side is in want of

good water, ill cultivated and thinly peopled, the settlers being

chiefly on the north. In Merida the nights and days are nearly of a

length owing to its situation.

In Yucatan there are very few rivers of any consequence, but

springs are numerous, especially on the north side, and in digging

for their wells, in which they always find water at a little

depth, shells are usually found, from which, with the shallowness

of the sea near the coast, it has been supposed that the greater

part of the peninsula was once submerged. The eastern coast of

Yucatan is not inhabited by Spanish colonists, the English alone

appearing there, except in the small fort of Bacalar, which has

been built to prevent the British from going into the interior. The

British logwood cutters find that article in greatest perfection

in Campeachy Bay, and in the Bay of Honduras; but it has been said

that the logwood of Campeachy is more plentiful, as well as greatly

superior to that of Honduras.

_Campeachy_, or _St. Francisco de Campeche_, the principal trading

town of Yucatan, is situated in 19° 50ʹ 45ʺ north latitude, and

90° 30ʹ west longitude, on the west shore of the Bay of Campeachy,

in the gulf of Mexico, in the river St. Francisco. It has some

fortifications which command the town and harbour, and has often

been plundered and taken by the English and French buccaneers; In

1659 it was taken by the English under Sir Christopher Mims, in

1678 by the Buccaneers, and in 1685 by the pirates of St. Domingo;

the last named year they set fire to the town and fortification,

and plundered the adjacent country to the distance of fifteen

miles; they also burnt 50,000_l._ worth of logwood, because the

governor would not ransom the place for an enormous sum which

they demanded. When the Spaniards first took this place, it

contained three thousand houses, with many beautiful monuments

of the Indian arts. The houses at present are numerous, and well

built of stone; the harbour is large, but not deep; and the chief

manufacture is cotton cloth, and wax. It used formerly to be the

market for logwood till the British landed; when they cut it at

Trieste island, 120 miles from Campeachy, near the isthmus. Great

quantities of logwood formerly grew all about Campeachy, but the

British have nearly monopolized this trade.

The logwood cutting establishments are under the Spanish governor;

but by the treaty of peace in 1783, the British were allowed the

privilege of cutting it without being molested.

The wood is felled at stated seasons, and in stated places, by

permission of the intendant, and is dried for a year previous to

exportation. This wood is not confined to Yucatan; it grows in

abundance on the coast of South America, near the mouths of the

Orinoco. The town of Campeachy contains 6000 people.

The language of the Indians is styled the Maya Tongue; and Yucatan

is remarkable for being the scene of the early conquests and

discoveries of the Spaniards, who found the natives in a state of

comparative civilization; as they had stone houses, temples, and

cultivated fields; some monuments of their industry still exist.

The population, including Indians, is 465,800. We have given

a description of Campeachy first, on account of its being the

principal trading place, and formerly the metropolis. _Merida de

Yucatan_ is now the capital and residence of the intendant, who is

also called captain-general. Merida is ten leagues from the coast;

its port is called Sisal, being in 21° 10ʹ north latitude, 89° 59ʹ

30ʺ west longitude, with a castle and small harbour, having an

immense sandbank opposite its entrance. Merida is situated in a

plain almost destitute of water; the population amounts to 10,000.

This with _Campeachy_ and _Valadolid_, famous for its cotton

plantations, are the most noted places of the country, with the

large Indian villages of Zampolan and Equetchecan, between Merida

and Campeachy.

_GUATIMALA._

Guatimala is a general name for a portion of the territory on

the narrow part of the continent, which reaches from Oaxaca and

Vera Cruz, southward to Veragua, on the isthmus of Darien. This

tract of land is subject to the government of a captain-general,

and is called the Capitania General of Guatimala, or as it is

sometimes written, Gualtimala. The officer who exercises this

command is independent of the viceregal court of Mexico, and is

appointed by the king of Spain, consulting the viceroy on important

occasions only; in what regards the immediate government of the

captain-generalship, he is perfectly independent of any of the

viceroys of the New World, acting solely on behalf and in the

name of His Catholic Majesty. Of his power and resources, with

his emoluments, &c. very little can be said, as this interesting

portion of Spanish America has not attracted the serious attention

of any contemporary writers.

The territory of Guatimala is subdivided into numerous provinces

or districts, of which the following names are given as a list:

Soconusco, Suchitepec, Sonsonate, St. Salvador, St. Miguel,

Tiguesgalpa, Choluteca, or Keses, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica,

Vera Paz and Chiapa. The first seven of these are denominated

Guatimala, in the most modern maps, which is however an error.

The general appearance of the soil, (excepting the neighbourhoods

of the volcanoes,) is fertile in the extreme; and Guatimala

abundantly produces corn, cochineal, honey, wax, cotton, the

sugar-cane, indigo, maize, pimento and chocolate. There are plenty

of cattle and sheep in the farming districts. The climate differs

greatly, according to the situation of the provinces on the eastern

or western coasts; the western side is in general the best and

healthiest, as may be observed, throughout the whole of North

America. The whole country is mountainous, of which the particular

ridges are very little known. In the Guatimala of the maps, that is

to say, on the western shore from Guaxaca to Veragua, the country

is dreadfully subject to tremendous convulsions of the earth, which

has at times involved whole cities in ruin, exterminated complete

tribes of people, and reversed the order of peaceful nature. The

volcanoes are extremely numerous, and some of them terrific;

no less than twenty are known to exist, which are constantly

in action. The captain-general is commander of the troops, and

Guatimala, the chief city, is the seat of a royal audience, which

governs twenty-five districts. This Audienza Real, or Supreme

Court of Justice, was first established in 1554.

The capital of this extensive country is GUATIMALA, which is

situated in 14° 28ʹ north latitude, and 92° 40ʹ west longitude.

It is built near the Pacific Ocean, on the Rio Vaccas, and has a

good harbour. It is the see of an archbishop, which was established

in the year 1742, and seat of the Audienza Real, with that of the

government of the Capitania General. This renders it a place of

nearly as much importance as Mexico, or any other chief city of the

Americas. It has an university, and its chief trade consists in

chocolate, pitch, and naptha.

When this city was first built, it was founded on the declivity of

a mountain, at whose summit was a volcano, in a beautiful valley

of three miles in width, and was then called St. Jago. This valley

opened to, and fronted the Pacific Ocean, and the town contained

about 7000 families.

In the year 1751, this unfortunate city was overwhelmed by an

earthquake, and by the matter from the volcano, which is called

the Volcan de Guatimala. Notwithstanding this awful calamity, the

surviving inhabitants ventured to rebuild their favourite abode;

but direful to relate, another and a more tremendous convulsion

again destroyed the devoted place in the year 1775. The greater

part of the inhabitants were buried in the ruins, and the whole

circumstance was one of the most tremendous and calamitous ever

known. The city was again rebuilt shortly afterwards, on the spot

on which it now stands, which is twenty-five geographical miles to

the southward of the Old Town. It is a magnificent place, adorned

with churches and monasteries, and an university reckoned one of

the best in the empire. The women have been celebrated for their

beauty, and the people altogether for their suavity of manners and

courteous disposition. The moisture of the climate has been stated

as a cause of the beauty and delicacy of the females.

The number of inhabitants in this city has been computed at about

19,000.

_GUATIMALA PROPER_,

Or the Guatimala of the maps, is a division of the above territory,

which is bounded on the north by Vera Paz, Chiapa, Guaxaca and

Honduras; on the south, by the Pacific; on the east, by Nicaragua;

and on the west, by Guaxaca and the Pacific Ocean. _Guatimala_ or

_St. Jago de Guatimala_ is its capital, as well as that of the

whole Audience. It is subdivided into the following districts, from

the north to the south, along the coast of the Pacific, Soconusco,

Suchitepec, Sansonate, St. Salvador, St. Miguel, Tiguesgalpa and

Choluteca, or Xeses, each of which we shall separately describe,

but in a limited manner, as no information, that can be relied on

is to be found with respect to these regions.

SOCONUSCO.--This province is situated in the northern part of

Guatimala, and is bounded on the north, by Chiapa; on the east, by

Vera Paz; on the south, by the Pacific; and on the west, by Guaxaca

and the Pacific.

The air in this district is exceeding hot, and the general state

of the climate either rainy or sultry; the rains last from April

till September, and violent storms are very frequent. Soconusco is

neither a healthy nor a pleasant country, and the soil is not so

fertile as in some other parts of Guatimala, the corn and maize

not growing so abundantly; but to compensate for this, it produces

pimento, indigo, and cacao, in great quantities, and with these

articles it carries on a great trade with the other North American

colonies of Spain. The Spaniards are not numerous in Soconusco,

it being chiefly inhabited by Indians, but the few Spaniards

who reside there are very rich. The capital of this province is

_Soconusco_, or _Guevetlan_, which is situated in 18° 30ʹ north

latitude, and 120° 40ʹ west longitude, on a small river which runs

into the Pacific Ocean; Soconusco is 460 miles south-east of the

city of Mexico.

SUCHITEPEC is a small district to the southward of Soconusco, and

whose capital is _St. Antonio de Suchitepec_, which is situated on

a river running into the Pacific, in 14° 44ʹ north latitude, 93°

36ʹ west longitude, and 60 miles west-north-west of Guatimala. Its

population amounts to 1480, all Indians of the Suhutil nation.

SANSONATE is another small district of Guatimala, to the southward

of Suchitepec, having for its capital _La Trinidad or Sansonate_,

situated on the river Sonsonate, at its mouth; this town is a

sea-port, and is situated 120 miles south-east of the city of

Mexico, with about 2000 inhabitants, of whom 400 are whites. The

population of the district is about 40,000 souls, consisting almost

entirely of Indians, Mulattoes and Negroes.

ST. SALVADOR is also a small district of Guatimala to the southward

of the former, which produces sugar-canes and indigo in great

abundance, the soil being very fertile; the capital of this

province is _Cuzcatlan_ or _St. Salvador_, which is situated in

13° 40ʹ north latitude, 89° 20ʹ west longitude, twelve miles from

the coast of the Pacific Ocean, and 140 miles east-south-east

of Guatimala; it has a little trade, and is the residence of a

governor: many maps have absurdly made this town the capital of

Spanish North America. Its population is about 5,000 Indians,

whites and Castes.

ST. MIGUEL, to the southward of the former, is another small

district, having for its capital _St. Miguel_, which is situated

fifty miles east of St. Salvador or Cuzcatlan.

TIGUESGALPA or TIGUAZALPA, is also a small district of the same

country, situated near the province of Nicaragua, whose capital of

the same name is situated on a river which runs into Amapalla Bay;

eighty miles north of Leon de Nicaragua, in 13° 50ʹ north latitude,

and 87° 36ʹ west longitude.

CHOLETUCA is also another and the last district of that division

of the Audience of Guatimala, which is named Guatimala Proper,

or Guatimala only in the maps; of all these foregoing divisions

little or nothing is known; their climate is very hot, they have

rains from April to September, and are bounded from the eastern or

Atlantic provinces of Guatimala by a ridge of mountains which are

very lofty, and in which there exists numerous dreadful volcanoes.

The whole of this country is subject to earthquakes and storms,

and although in general very fertile and productive, it has little

commerce, there being no mines of any great importance in its whole

range; the number of its inhabitants has not been ascertained. Its

rivers are not considerable, nor has it any lakes of consequence.

SOLOLA, QUESALTENANGO, TOTANICAPAN, ESCUINTLA, &c. are the names of

other districts in the interior, mostly inhabited by Indians living

in missions or villages; but as so little is accurately known

concerning this kingdom, it is of no use to merely enumerate titles

of districts.

_CHIAPA_

Is the next province of Guatimala which occurs in tracing the map

of that country; it is situated inland, and is bounded on the

north by the province of Tabasco; on the south-east, by Vera Paz;

south-west by Soconusco, and west by Guaxaca; it is 255 miles in

length from west to east, and 300 miles broad at its widest, and

ninety at its smallest breadth. It is full of hills and mountains,

but has no mines, nor is gold found in its rivers; the Spaniards

therefore only value it for its situation, which renders it the

key to New Spain, as the river Tabasco, Puerto Real, and its

vicinity to Yucatan render it the easiest of access of any part of

their dominions. The principal river is the Chiapa, which rises

inland, and running to the north through the Indian country of the

Quelenes, falls into the Mexican gulf at Tabasco. This river is

the great road of the inhabitants of Chiapa; by it they carry on

a considerable trade with the adjacent provinces, particularly in

cochineal and silk, the Indian women making beautiful handkerchiefs

of the latter article, which are eagerly sought by the Spaniards

for the European market.

Chiapa abounds with magnificent forests of cedar, cypress, pine,

oak, walnut, &c. with trees which yield all sorts of aromatic

balsams and gums, copal, &c.; wild cochineal, maize, corn, cacao,

and cotton are also extremely productive, and fruits are found here

of every kind that is known in these regions. The natives colour

the chocolate with a substance called achiotte. This province is

famous for its fine cattle, and for a very excellent breed of

horses, which are in such request that they often send them to

Mexico, 500 miles distant.

Wild beasts are very numerous in its forests, and wild hogs,

foxes and rabbits are seen every where in its plains; snakes of

a formidable size, said to be twenty feet long, are found in the

mountainous parts, also others of a red colour, streaked with black

and white, which are tamed by the Indians, who carry them about

their persons.

The inhabitants of this country are a well made, fair people, very

courteous in their manners and skilled in music and painting, with

great knowledge of the mechanical arts.

The chief town of this province is CHIAPA or _Cuidad Real_, or

_Chiapa de los Espagnoles_; it is the see of a bishop, whose

revenue is 8000 ducats per annum. It is also the seat of the courts

of justice, and is situated in 17° north latitude, and 96° 40ʹ

west longitude, in a beautiful plain environed with mountains, at

nearly the same distance from the Pacific Ocean as from the gulf of

Mexico, and 300 miles to the north of Guatimala. Chiapa Real is

neither very populous nor very rich, and it is said that the upper

orders of the Spaniards who inhabit it are proud, poor and ignorant

to a proverb. The families amount to four hundred in the city,

and the Indian families in the suburbs, to about one hundred. The

cathedral is an edifice of beautiful appearance and the city has

several monasteries. It is governed by a magistrate chosen amongst

the burgesses, in consequence of a privilege granted the city by

the king of Spain, and its principal commerce consists in cacao,

cotton and cochineal.

CHIAPA DE LOS INDIOS, or _Chiapa of the Indians_, is the next town

of rank in this province; this is the largest city which they have

in the country, and is situated 36 miles north-west of Chiapa Real,

in a valley near the Rio Tabasco.

The town is extensive and opulent, and is filled with Indians who

hold a high rank amongst their tribes. It is asserted that this

city contains 20,000 people of the native race. The climate is

excessively hot during the day-time in this part of the country,

but the evenings and nights are cool. There are many monasteries

and churches in this town; the first bishop was the celebrated

Bartolomeo de las Casas, who struggled so hard for the rights of

the Indians, and whose memory is consequently very dear to them. On

the river Tabasco the inhabitants amuse themselves in performing

naval actions with boats; and all around the town are farms which

are plentifully stocked with cattle; in the vicinity there are

also some sugar plantations: wheat is sold here from Chiapa Real,

and biscuits are made of it, which are bartered by the natives and

Spaniards for cotton, wool and other necessaries.

_PROVINCE OF VERA-PAZ._

The province of Guatimala next to Chiapa is Vera-Paz; it is bounded

on the north by the provinces of Chiapa and Yucatan; on the east,

by Honduras and the bay or gulf of Honduras; on the south, by

Guatimala; and on the west by the Saine and Chiapa. It is about 120

miles in length, and 74 in extreme breadth. The air in the higher

parts of Vera-Paz is healthy; in the low land insalubrious. This

district is subject to earthquakes, to nine months of rain, and

storms with dreadful thunder and lightning. The mountains which

overspread great part of the country, are thickly covered with

forests, of which cedars occupy the greatest part. It is not much

cultivated, and yields a little corn and fruits. The wild animals

of America are very numerous in the extensive woods of Vera-Paz.

Its trade consists chiefly in drugs, cotton, cacao, honey, wool,

&c.; and from its situation on the gulf of Honduras, might be

rendered much more flourishing than it is. The gulf of Dolce or

Dulce, a sort of large lake, but which communicates with the sea

by means of the gulf of Amatique, lies on the eastern and southern

part of Vera-Paz, and seems placed there by nature, to facilitate

the commerce of the government of Guatimala.

The chief town of Vera-Paz is _Coban_, or _Vera-Paz_, situated

in north latitude 15° 50ʹ west longitude, 91° 14ʹ; 600 miles

south-east of Mexico, on the Rio Coban which falls into the gulf or

lake of Dulce.

_THE PROVINCE OF NICARAGUA_

Is bounded on the north by Honduras, on the east by the Caribbean

sea, on the west by Guatimala and the Pacific, and on the south by

Costa Rica.

The climate is, generally speaking, salubrious; the summers are

hot, but not unhealthy, and in the winter they have much rain and

storms.

It is one of the most woody countries of Spanish North America,

and where cultivated, extremely fertile, so much so, as to

receive the name of the “Garden of America.” When the Spaniards

first discovered it, they called it Paraiso de Mahoma, Mahometʼs

Paradise, on account of the beauty of the country, and the perfume

of the odoriferous plants, with which the soil is covered. Its

chief products are flax, hemp, balsams, cotton, sugar, long-pepper,

turpentine, liquid amber and Nicaragua-wood, which is a substance

used in the dying trade; these, with its silver mines, constitute

the chief objects of the labour and traffic of its inhabitants, who

carry on a great trade with Panama, &c.

Wheat is not plentiful in Nicaragua, nor is there any great

quantity of sheep, but black cattle and hogs are very numerous.

Wild turkeys and parrots occupy, with wild animals, the extensive

woods, whilst the sands of some of its rivers furnish gold, which

is also found in lumps in this province.

The natives are numerous, and reckoned an industrious and ingenious

people, and are particularly skilled in the goldsmithʼs art.

The capital of the province of Nicaragua is LEON, or _Leon de

Nicaragua_, situated on a lake of fresh water, abounding with fish,

which is called by the same name, and communicates with the great

lake; this town has a mountain near it with a volcano, which has

sometimes caused it to suffer by earthquakes. The town is not very

large, containing about 1200 houses, with many convents, and four

churches. It is the see of a bishop. Its port is Realexo, which

is situated near it, and is a fortified town with a good harbour,

which has the same name, and is on the Rio Realejo. The river

Realejo is so deep and commodious as to be capable of containing

200 sail of vessels. The town has good fortifications and fine

docks for building and repairing ships. It has three churches and

an hospital. Realexo is in north latitude 12° 45ʹ, 87° 30ʹ west

longitude, eighteen miles north-west of Leon. It suffered much

from the Buccaneers, as they found it a commodious harbour; the

Pacific is shut out by an island which lies across the mouth of the

bay, and forms two channels; but the one on the north-west side is

the safest and best.

The town of Realexo is unhealthy owing to the marshes and creeks in

its neighbourhood; its chief trade consists in cordage, pitch and

tar, and in the little commerce it carries on for Leon, of which it

is the embarcadero or port.

NICARAGUA, or _Granada_, is another town near the great lake at

its south-eastern extremity, in 86° 15ʹ west longitude, 11° 15ʹ

north latitude. In the year 1680, this town as well as the capital

was sacked by the Buccaneers, it has now a considerable trade in

cochineal, hides and sugar, with the neighbouring provinces.

St. JUAN is a sea-port thirty miles south-east of Leon, in 12° 10ʹ

north latitude, 87° 38ʹ west longitude, and there are some others

of little note.

The river St. Juan is the stream which affords an outlet to the

lakes of Nicaragua and Leon into the Caribbean sea. Its length

is about 100 miles; this river is navigated by boats and canoes

carrying tallow and goods to Porto Bello, 240 miles distant, but

they are obliged to make three portages which is owing to some

obstructions in the course. These carrying places are defended,

and at one of them is the Fort St. Juan, called also the Castle of

Neustra Senora, on a rock, and very strong; it has thirty-six guns

mounted, with a small battery, whose platform is level with the

water; and the whole is enclosed on the land side by a ditch and

rampart. Its garrison is generally kept up at 100 infantry, sixteen

artillery men, with about sixty of the militia, and is provided

with batteaux, which row guard every night up and down the stream.

Some slaves are allowed for the menial services of the garrison,

and this post is supplied with provisions, fowls, garden-stuff,

&c. from Granada, distant 180 miles, being usually provisioned for

six months. The climate is very unhealthy as it is always raining,

and the place requires to be constantly recruited from Guatimala.

This port is looked on as the key of the Americas, and with the

possession of it and Realejo on the other side of the lake, the

Spanish colonies might be paralyzed by the enemy being then master

of the ports of both oceans. This river St. Juan has also been

proposed as the means of joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans;

its great length, the necessity for making only two or three cuts

to avoid its obstructions, the immense depth of the lakes Nicaragua

and Leon, and a short canal of twelve or fourteen miles on the

western side, would effect this object; thus rendering an easy and

safe communication from the West Indies, the coast of the Spanish

main, and the eastern shore of New Spain to the Pacific Ocean. It

is to be supposed that the Spaniards would not have neglected an

opportunity thus afforded them by nature, had not political reasons

suggested the impropriety of the undertaking.

_THE PROVINCE OF HONDURAS_

Is a large province of the kingdom of Guatimala, and is bounded

on the north by the gulf or bay of Honduras, which separates it

from the province of Yucatan; on the west by Vera-Paz; on the

east by the Caribbean sea; and on the south by the province of

Nicaragua. The length of Honduras from east to west is 390 miles,

and its breadth from north to south about 150. Honduras was first

discovered by Columbus, who landed on the Mosquito shore on Sunday

the 14th of August, 1502, and took formal possession of the country.

The climate of this country is good; the air, excepting on the

eastern shore, and near the morasses, being pure and wholesome.

The soil in most parts is exceeding fertile, abundantly producing

corn, vegetables and fruits. They have a three-fold crop of maize

in the year, and the vines produce grapes twice in the same period.

The pastures are excellent, and the country furnishes all kinds

of provisions; but for want of cultivation and settlements, the

greater part of it is in a state of nature. It has many good and

serviceable small rivers, and is well watered. It has several

mountains in its extent, in which are gold and silver mines, and

the face of the country is agreeably diversified into valleys,

plains and eminences, overspread in most parts with thick forests.

Honey, wool, cotton, wax, mahogany and logwood, with other dyeing

drugs, are its chief products; the latter forming an immense part

of its exports, and from which its chief importance is derived.

The felling of the mahogany trees is performed twice in the year,

in Autumn and at Christmas. This is done by slaves, who have one

man called a finder, or huntsman, whose business it is to seek for

the mahogany trees in the thick woods, and to point them out to

the gang. This he does by penetrating the forest, and climbing the

tallest trees to discover his object; the mahogany trees generally

grow separately, and are much dispersed, so that the labour of

procuring this valuable wood is very great; the finder soon

discovers them by the deep colour of their leaves, and he selects

the place where they are most numerous to call his comrades to work

at.

The mahogany tree is cut at the height of ten or twelve feet from

the earth; and for this purpose they erect a stage for the feller

to stand conveniently on. The trunk is used for tables, and other

articles of furniture, which require large planks of this wood;

but the branches are reckoned the best parts of the tree, as the

grain in them is closer, and the streaks more beautifully varied.

The trunks and branches are dragged by the negroes to the nearest

river, and there made into rafts, for the purpose of being floated

into the sea to the settlements.

The growth of the mahogany tree is very rapid, but not so much

so as that of the logwood, which comes to a state fit for use in

five years. The slaves who are employed in cutting the logwood and

mahogany have been brought either from the United States, or the

West India Islands by their owners, and are not in such a degrading

state of subjection as their brethren of the last-mentioned places.

Logwood trees are cut in logs of about three feet in length, and

sent to Europe in that form, where they afterward undergo many

operations, and are principally used by dyers for the finest black

and for purple colours.

The Mosquito shore, a tract of country which lies along part of

the northern and the eastern shore of Honduras, has been claimed

by the British. The English held this country for eighty years,

and, abandoned it in 1787 and 1788. The Spaniards call it a part

of Honduras, which it really is, and claim it as such. It is an

unhealthy, hot country, inhabited chiefly by a race of people

called the Mosquito Indians, who are excellent marksmen, and of a

warlike disposition. They are employed by the British to strike the

manati, or sea-cow, for the sake of the oil it affords, and bear

an invincible hatred to the Spaniards, being much attached to the

English; as they were so cruelly treated on the conquest of this

part of the country by the former people, that they have never

forgiven it, and they do not acknowledge any allegiance to them.

Their ancestors, after long and exterminating contests with the

Spaniards, retreated into the mountains, and there remained till

the English took possession of the Mosquito shore.

When the Duke of Albemarle was governor of Jamaica, they put

themselves under his protection, and their king had a commission

granted him from Great Britain. It is asserted that since that time

the new monarch always goes to Jamaica to receive this document;

and that the Mosquito Indians, his subjects, refuse to acknowledge

his power till he does so. They trade with, and are frequently in

the habit of crossing to Jamaica. The Spaniards are said to have

no settlements on the Mosquito Shore; which name has been given to

this country, partly from the Indians, and from a bank and cluster

of islands which lie near it, in 14° 30ʹ north latitude, and 82°

10ʹ west longitude.

The Mosquito Indians were formerly a very powerful and numerous

race of people; but the ravages of rum and the small-pox have

diminished their numbers very much. They inhabit, however, nearly

the whole coast of Honduras; and their most numerous tribe exists

near the Cape Gracios á Dios. This tribe has, however, been the

subject of many enquiries and disputes, as they differ in their

persons from the other natives, and it is confidently said by many

authors that they are the descendants of the slaves of a Guinea

ship, which was wrecked near this Cape. They are called the Samboc

Mosquitoes. Cape Gracias á Dios was the place where the British

first established themselves in the Honduras territory, upon the

banks of a navigable river, where the country is very fertile, and

the harbour, formed by an inlet of the sea, is safe and commodious.

This happened in 1730. They also fixed a colony about 78 miles

from Cape Honduras, the colony at Cape Gracios á Dios being 162

miles distant. Seeking farther southward, at Bluefields River,

210 miles-from the first colony, they found a fine harbour, an

extensive river, and a natural situation for a fort, with spacious,

beautiful and fruitful plains.

The bay of Honduras, so celebrated for its trade in logwood and

mahogany, is situated between Cape Catoche, the north-eastern

most point of the province of Yucatan, and Cape Honduras. The land

in the neighbourhood of this bay is inhabited by the Mosquito

Indians. The English factories in 1769 amounted to 200 whites, the

same number of people of colour, and 900 slaves. They exported

to Jamaica, mules, &c. and to Europe, 800,000 feet of mahogany,

10,000 pounds of tortoise-shell, and 200,000 pounds weight of

sarsaparilla. This trade was much damped by smuggling: but in the

year 1763 Great Britain obtained the privilege of the logwood

trade. They have lately discovered that the Campeachy wood of

Yucatan, which grows on drier ground, is better, and of a closer

grain, than the Honduras wood: but the price of the former had been

so long kept up, that the latter trade was the most flourishing.

The best mahogany is now cut in Yucatan.

The climate of the Honduras is superior to that of the West Indies;

the sea-breezes being regular during the whole of the year,

excepting in April, May and June, when the heats of summer prevail;

but the mean heat is 30°.

BALIZE is the chief and only settlement of the British which

is worth mentioning, situated at the mouth of a river of the

same name, and consists of 200 habitations built of wood, and

elevated on pillars. The shops, magazines, or offices, are on the

ground-floor, and the habitable parts in the upper. The two floors

have each piazzas, to which the people retire, from the heat of

their inner apartments. The river on which Balize is situated,

is navigable for boats 200 miles up the country, and the wood

cutters proceed to that distance, in search of their article.

The agriculture of this country has been neglected, on account

of the wood trade, though the soil would produce the West Indian

commodities of sugar, coffee, or cotton, with rice and Indian corn

in great abundance. The British government appoint an officer to

the command of this station, who is usually an officer of some

rank in the army.

Many of the turtle which are caught here, are exported to England;

and the hawks bill (a particular kind) is consumed in the

settlement; its shell being an article of the commerce of Honduras.

The bay of Honduras is full of shoals, rocks, and islands, which

make its navigation dangerous. The fog, which is prevalent during

the northerly winds, increases the difficulty, and the currents on

the coast are very uncertain.

The introduction of British manufactures has been impeded into the

adjacent Spanish settlements by the jealousy of the Spaniards; but

it is probable that it may in time become a very valuable station.

The British government grant a convoy in January and July each year

to the Honduras traders; and the annual revenue of the settlement

is stated at about five thousand pounds.

The Mosquitoes who have fallen under the observation of the British

settlers, seem to have no other religion than the adoration of evil

spirits; and their conjurers are in fact the priests, the lawyers

and the judges. Polygamy is practised; and all domestic offices are

performed by the females.

The crown is succeeded to hereditarily, and the king is a despotic

monarch. These people are warlike, keeping the other Indian

nations and their Spanish neighbours, in complete defiance; they

can support hardships and want of food with great heroism; but,

as all savages do, when they can indulge, they place no bounds

to their excesses. The warriors of this tribe are accounted at

fifteen hundred. The mosquitoes annoy these savages, who probably

have received their name from these insects being so plentiful on

the coast; so much, that at particular seasons, they quit their

dwellings, and pass their nights in their canoes.

In Honduras, the rainy season is always accompanied by great

flights of swallows, who remain at night at rest on the great

savannahs or plains, and at sun-rise rush in a body up into the

air, in quest of the flies, their nutriment; at dusk they return,

and a traveller has described the noise which this immense body of

birds make in their flight, as comparable to that of a waterfall.

In the bay, cormorants and pelicans are very numerous, as well as

many other sorts of sea-fowl, attracted by the abundance of fish.

The chief towns of the Spanish part of Honduras, are Valladolid,

the capital, Truxillo, Gracias á Dios, and Omoa.

VALLADOLID, or COMAYAGUAS, is the capital, and is a large and fine

town, in 88° 19ʹ west longitude, 14° 30ʹ north latitude, on the

banks of a river which falls into Honduras bay. It is said that

there are rich silver mines in the vicinity of Valladolid; this

city is the residence of the intendant, and the see of a bishop,

who is styled Bishop of Honduras.

TRUXILLO is situated on a hill near the sea, and in Truxillo bay;

this sea-port has very often been ravaged by the Dutch and British;

it is at present a place of little account, though made, by some

writers, the capital; and is in 15° 51ʹ north latitude, and 86° 8ʹ

west longitude. Truxillo is ninety miles north of Valladolid.

GRACIAS Á DIOS, is on the bay of Honduras, at the mouth of a small

river; and there are said to be some gold mines in its vicinity. It

is in 14° 30ʹ north latitude, and 90° 6ʹ west longitude.

OMOA, or ST. FRANCISCO DE OMOA, is situated in 15° 50ʹ north

latitude, 89° 53ʹ west longitude, and is a strongly fortified

sea-port. The treasure and valuable commodities of Guatimala are

received here to be embarked; and the European trade of the kingdom

carried on through this port, which is so important as to be called

the key of Honduras.

_PROVINCE OF COSTA RICA._

COSTA RICA is the most southern province of Guatimala, and is

bounded on the north by Nicaragua, east by the Caribbean sea,

west by the Pacific, and south by the province of Veragua. It is

150 miles long, and in its widest part about 140 broad. Its name,

Costa Rica, “the Rich Coast,” is derived from its valuable gold

and silver mines, and a pearl fishery, which formerly existed on

its shores. It is a very mountainous country, overspread with

thick forests and waste lands; its population is not extensive,

and consequently, there is little or no agriculture practised. The

native tribes are its principal inhabitants; the Spaniards only

occupying some small towns and mining stations; but the natives are

not subjugated, and live independent of their Spanish neighbours.

Its chief mine is Tisingal, reported to be nearly as rich as

Potosi. The commerce of this province consists in cacao, cattle,

honey, hides and wax; and in its pearl fishery, with a species of

shell-fish, which produces a purple dye. The pearl-muscle and the

shell-fish alluded to, are found principally in a small bay, called

the Gulf de la Salinas, or Nicoya. This is its principal port on

the Pacific shore, while on the Atlantic, the port of Carthago is

situated at a great distance from the town of the same name.

CARTHAGO the capital is situated in 9° 5ʹ north latitude, and 83°

west longitude, 360 miles west of Panama, the see of a bishop, and

the residence of a governor; it is not a place of much importance

or any considerable population, having been lately much deserted,

though it was formerly one of the first towns in this part of the

world.

NICOYA is the next town of any importance; it is situated near

the shore of the gulf of the same name, on the western or Pacific

coast, in 85° 53ʹ west longitude, and 10° 42ʹ north latitude. The

pearl and dye fishery is situated in the bay of Salinas, thirty

miles east of Nicoya. The trade of the inhabitants of Nicoya

consists in salt, honey, Indian corn, wheat, fowls, and the purple

juice of the above mentioned fish, which they export to Panama; and

which was first discovered to produce so valuable a substance by

the Indian women, who stained their cotton garments with its fluid.

_PROVINCE OF VERAGUA._

VERAGUA, though actually situated in North America, is an integral

part of the government or kingdom of Tierra Firma, in South

America. The principle of this work being to offer descriptions

of the whole of Spanish North America, as it is geographically

situated, before entering upon the description of the territorial

possessions of the same power in the southern part of that vast

continent, we shall accordingly proceed with Veragua, as though it

formed a part of Guatimala.

It is bounded on the north, by the Caribbean sea; east by the

province of Darien in South America, which is separated from

Veragua by the ridge of Canatagua; on the west, by Costa Rica, and

on the south, by the Great Pacific ocean. It was first discovered

by Columbus, in the year 1503, and this province was granted to him

by the Spanish king, as a reward for his services, with the title

of duke. He gave the river the appellation of Verdes aguas, which

in Spanish is the same as Green Waters, on account of the colour

of its waves; this has gradually been corrupted into Veragua,

and from this river, the province takes its name. The Spaniards

were very long before they could make any permanent settlement in

this province, on account of the hostility of the inhabitants.

Gaspar dʼEspinosa, and Diego de Alvarez, endeavoured to conquer

and explore Veragua, but being repulsed in all their attempts by

the natives under their sovereign Urraca, they were obliged to

form a settlement in the neighbourhood, and fonded the city of

Santiago; but here they were assailed by these valiant Indians,

and were obliged to strengthen their position in every possible

manner to resist their frequent attacks. Veragua is a mountainous,

rugged country, covered with vast forests, beautifully interspersed

by luxuriant and fertile valleys; the heat of this province is

very great, though meliorated by the rains which are constantly

falling; thunder storms, accompanied with frightful lightning,

occur very frequently, and during these storms, the torrents rush

with impetuous and overwhelming force into the vales from the

surrounding mountains. The Indians, the principal tribe of whom are

called Doraces, live in the forests and mountains, and are only

partially converted by the missionaries, who have founded some

villages, where they reside with their flocks; this has only been

accomplished since the year 1760. The woods abound with monkeys and

wild animals; there is one kind of monkey of a delicate form and

yellow colour with a white head, and it is said, they never live

when removed from their native climate.

The gold and silver mines of Veragua are not much wrought, owing to

the rugged nature of the country in which they are situated; the

natives being the only means they have to transport the produce

over the mountains, which when a mine is worked they do on their

backs. The labour and expence attendant on this mode of carrying

the ores to be smelted, render the working of the mines, though

they are very rich, almost, impracticable.

The capital is _Veragua_, or _St. Jago de Veragua_, a handsome

town, situated in a moist and warm climate, and surrounded by a

small district which produces Indian corn, a root called yucca,

of which they make bread, and plantains; cattle and hogs are here

also very numerous. The Indians in the vicinity dye their cottons,

manufactured by themselves, with the juice of shell-fish found at

the bay of Salinas in Costa Rica, and on the coast of Veragua,

affording a rich and delicate purple; with this juice, and with

gold, which they find in the hills, they carry on a trade with

Panama and Guatimala. This city is the residence of a governor, and

has fourteen villages under the jurisdiction of its magistrates;

there is also a fine hospital founded by the friars; and its

inhabitants are partly Spaniards, partly mulattoes.

The next city is _Nuestra Senora de Los Remedios_, or _Puebla

Nueva_, inhabited by Spaniards and their descendants. _Santiago el

Angel_, or _Alangi_, is the third city of Veragua, and was founded

by Benito Hurtado, governor of Panama. There are also several large

villages, inhabited principally by the native Indians.

_Veragua_ is famed as having been the country where the first

European colony was attempted to be planted by Columbus, on the

continent of America. This happened on the 24th of February, 1503;

but after building a fort and constructing some houses, they found

themselves unable to resist the attacks of the Indians; and from

this, and other circumstances, Columbus resolved to embark the

colony; which he accordingly did.

_WEST INDIA ISLANDS_

BELONGING TO THE CROWN OF SPAIN.

The West India Islands, colonized by Spain, are not numerous.

Puerto Rico and Cuba, in the northern group, Margarita and some

others on the coast of Caraccas, unimportant in their nature, being

mostly mere rocks, compose the whole of the islands in the West

Indian seas which are possessed by Spain; of these Puerto Rico and

Cuba are the most important; Cuba being the largest as well as one

of the most fertile islands belonging to any European power in the

American seas.

POLITICAL DIVISIONS.

These islands are divided into three governments; Puerto Rico

is a capitaneria generale, as is the island of Cuba, including

the adjacent continent of the Floridas; under the title of

Captain-General of the Havannah, an officer of high rank governs

this island and Florida; his situation being the most important of

any of the capitanias generales of Spanish America.

The captain-general of Caraccas governs the island of Margarita

and the others on the coast of his province; we shall therefore

describe these islands under the head of Caraccas, proceeding at

present to the description of Puerto Rico.

_PUERTO RICO._

THE island of Puerto Rico, is situated in the Caribbean sea and

Atlantic ocean, between the island of Hayti or St. Domingo, and the

Virgin Islands. It occupies a space between 65° 30ʹ and 67° 45ʹ of

west longitude, and between 18° and 18° 35ʹ of north latitude. In

shape, it is nearly a parallelogram, its length being about 120

miles by forty in breadth. Columbus discovered this island during

his second voyage, in the year 1493. Juan Ponce de Leon, of whom we

have spoken in the description of Florida, colonized Puerto Rico,

in 1509; when he subjugated the country; the native Indians were at

that time very numerous, but have since disappeared.

Puerto Rico is an important island to the Spaniards; its

productions are very valuable to their European commerce, and the

climate is more healthy and temperate than in the other islands of

the Caribbean seas. The mountains of Puerto Rico, are not of any

very great altitude, but form a beautiful feature of the landscape,

their gently undulating surface composing picturesque and well

watered valleys. The rivers are of no size, but agreeably diversify

the picture; and being very numerous, are exceedingly useful to the

purposes of agriculture. The interior, and part of the seashore to

the north, is still covered with the original forests, in which

roam large wild dogs; these dogs are the remains of a race brought

from Spain, by the first conquerors of the island, to assist in

hunting down the natives, who fled for protection to the fastnesses

of the interior.

These forests also abound with parrots, pigeons and other birds,

peculiar to the West India Islands, as well as with land-crabs,

which are as numerous here as in any of the Caribbean Isles; on

whose flesh the wild dogs are supposed to subsist.

The natural history of these crabs is highly singular; they are

the dread of colonists proceeding to the West Indies; who are

told, that should they die of the fevers so prevalent in that

region, their bodies will not rest long in the earth to which it is

committed; as the land-crabs burrowing to the grave, soon consume

them.

At certain seasons of the year, these singular animals, who

greatly resemble the sea-crabs in shape and manner of moving,

leave the mountains in which they have formed their burrows, and

move in immense cavalcades down to the sea-coast, for the purpose

of depositing their young in the waters. At this period nothing

arrests their progress, as they move continually in the same line;

if they meet with a wall, they climb up one side and down the

other; and the clattering noise produced by the claws is said to

be surprising. After depositing their young, they return to their

haunts, in the same order, and are followed by the young crabs, as

soon as they attain sufficient strength to perform the journey.

Cattle of superior qualities, originally brought from the

mother-country, are fed in this island; poultry are also very cheap

and plentiful, and the rivers and sea supply the inhabitants with

every variety of fish.

The southern coast is the most healthy as well is the most fertile;

producing, for the commerce of the inhabitants, sugar, coffee,

cassia, flax, cotton, ginger, and the odoriferous gums used in such

great quantity in Roman Catholic countries; these, with hides and

tropical fruits, compose the chief articles of their trade with

Europe, &c. They have here a fine breed of mules, which are sought

after, from the British islands in the neighbourhood.

The northern side, which is comparatively sterile, is supposed to

contain in the higher lands, some gold and silver mines; but of the

existence or value of these, nothing certain is ascertained.

With all these bounties so lavishly bestowed by the hand of Nature,

Puerto Rico is subjected occasionally to a dreadful calamity. In

the year 1742, a terrible tornado overturned the labour of years,

and destroyed the plantations, which did not recover the shock

they received for several years afterwards; these hurricanes

occasionally visit the island at present, but none of so calamitous

a nature has been experienced since that period. The total

population of the island is calculated at 136,000.

The capital of the island, and residence of the governor, is

situated on a peninsula on the northern shore. It was founded in

1514, and named _Puerto Rico_; from whence the whole island has

received its appellation; having been called Borriquen by the

natives when first discovered.

This town is also called _St. Juan de Puerto Rico_; and is situated

in 18° 29ʹ north latitude, and 66° 0ʹ west longitude; a fort

called St. Antonio, protects it on the south-west; and it has also

a citadel and other fortifications, with a very good harbour.

Puerto Rico is a bishopric, the bishop residing in the capital.

The amount of its population is not well known, but is very great.

This city has often been attacked; in 1594, by Sir Francis Drake;

in 1597, by the Duke of Cumberland, (who took and plundered it and

the island,) and again by the British in 1797; who were however as

unsuccessful as Sir Francis Drake.

The plantations and small towns of the island are very numerous,

but mostly too insignificant for notice. The number of slaves in

Puerto Rico is not considerable.

Puerto Rico draws from Mexico for the expences of its

administration, the sum of 377,000 piastres annually.

Its defence consists chiefly in the country militia.

It has adhered to the royal cause.

_CUBA._

CUBA, the largest as well as the most important of the islands in

the West Indian seas, is situated to the south of Florida, between

the northernmost point of Yucatan, and the westernmost point of the

island of Hayti, or Hispaniola. The western part of Cuba, nearly

shuts in with the northern shore of Yucatan and the western coast

of East Florida, that immense basin known by the name of the gulf

of Mexico; it is strongly suspected that Cape Catoche in Yucatan

and the most western headland of Cuba, were formerly united by

an isthmus, which has been gradually worn away by the pressure

and action of the waters of the Caribbean sea. Should this have

actually been the case, the Mexican gulf must have been very

shallow, as we find that the passage of the waters of the South

Atlantic, impelled by the trade-winds through the strait formed

by Cuba and Yucatan, is, although it has considerable breadth, so

very forcible, as to send a vast stream or current, with great

impetuosity round the gulf and through the straits of Florida, as

far as the banks of Newfoundland, and to the northern shores of

Europe. This stream is distinguishable in the North Atlantic, by

its superior heat to the rest of the waters of that ocean, and

by a body of sea-weed which constantly accompanies it. This the

author has observed considerably to the east of the great bank

of Newfoundland, as well as small land birds, which he cannot

imagine could have reached those latitudes by the aid of flight

alone. Might they not have been conveyed on the masses of sea-weed

(which also envelope wreck and trunks of trees) borne by this upper

current from the Mexican gulf?

The extent of Cuba is from 73° 50ʹ, to 85° 30ʹ of west longitude

from east to west; its form is so curved, that it lies, although

narrow, between 23° 20ʹ, and 19° 40ʹ north latitude; it is about

700 miles long, but not more than seventy in medial breadth.

Its position gives it the command of the gulf of Mexico, by the

Straits of Yucatan and Florida, as well as the navigation of the

windward passage and channel of Bahamas. The fine harbour of the

Havannah, and some other smaller ports, renders this island, with

the before-mentioned advantages, the most important of the West

India islands, particularly to Spain, possessing as she does the

shores of the Mexican gulf.

The Spanish Government, have accordingly spared no expence in

fortifying the Havannah, on which they seem to place their chief

dependence for the security of their ultramarine colonies.

Cuba was discovered by Columbus during his first voyage in the

year 1492, on Sunday the 28th of October. The natives of San

Salvador, the first land he made, called it by its present name,

Cuba; Columbus, however, named it after the king or queen of Spain;

but it retained this title only for a short time, the native name

soon taking precedency of the other. Columbus appears to have made

his research in this island, from the reports of the Indians of

San Salvador; when he arrived with his ships at the estuary of a

large river, the inhabitants imagining some terrible event was

about to befall them, fled to the interior; he, however, sent some

of his people after them; they fell down astonished at the feet of

these men, whom they imagined to be gods, and gave them different

articles the produce of the country, amongst which were golden

ornaments, made, as they said, in the mountains; and the Europeans

imagined they had found the mines of gold and silver they were

taught to imagine existed in this quarter of the world.

Columbus visited the greater part of the north coast of the island,

in search of the precious metals, but the Spanish adventurers

were disappointed in their hopes, gold being found only in very

small quantities. They in some measure consoled themselves by the

reflection, that the continent, as they imagined Cuba to be, might

contain these valuable articles in some other part, and by the

certainty, that the part they were now in, was fertile, beautiful

and rich in the vegetable productions of nature. The Spaniards

imagined that Cuba was a part of an immense continent, till the

year 1508, when an officer of the name of Obando, circumnavigated

it, and by this means ascertained that it was the largest of the

islands hitherto discovered in those seas. The brother of Columbus,

in the year 1511, in his capacity of admiral, and governor of

Hispaniola, sent Don Jago Velasques with a force of 300 men, to

conquer and colonize Cuba, which having performed, Velasquez was

appointed governor of the island; his principal town he founded

on the southern coast, and called it St. Jago; this situation he

chose on account of the largeness and fineness of the harbour; he

then built the city of the Havannah, at first of wooden houses, and

afterwards with stone.

The climate of Cuba is better than that of any other island in the

West Indian seas, excepting Puerto Rico; it is mild and temperate,

and they have no winter; the summer heat is moderated by the rains

and sea-breezes; the periodical rains lasting during the months of

July and August.

The fertility of Cuba is celebrated; spices, among which are pepper

and ginger; cassia, manioc, cacao, maize, aloes, mastic, sugar,

tobacco, the flavour of which is superior to that of any other

part of the world, known in commerce by the name of Havannah, and

sold to an enormous amount in cigars, with many other articles

the produce of tropical climates, constitute the riches of this

fine island. Coffee, though cultivated, is so little attended to

in the plantations, that not so much is grown for exportation as

might easily be raised. Honey is one of the great articles of the

export trade, and is annually produced to a great amount, as wax is

also. Cattle, originally from Europe, have multiplied so much in

Cuba, that they have become wild, and frequent, in immense droves,

the forests and savannahs, or marshy plains; they are hunted for

the sake of their hides and tallow, which are exported to a great

amount.

The forests also abound with swine, which have multiplied in a

similar manner; and the inhabitants possess large stocks of mules,

horses, fine black cattle, and sheep, all of which thrive very much.

The woods chiefly consist of timber of valuable qualities, the

red cedar, oaks, firs, palms, mahogany, ebony, lignum vitæ; woods

producing gums, aromatic and medicinal, &c.

The rivers and coasts abound with fish, and fine turtles frequent

the shallows. The birds of Cuba are principally the parrot, and

paroquet, American partridge, turtle-dove, and great varieties of

aquatic birds.

In this island there are supposed to exist veins of gold and

silver, because the inhabitants procure a small quantity of those

metals in the sands of the rivers which descend from the mountains.

The great metallic production of Cuba is copper, of which some

valuable mines exist in the eastern part of the island, with which

a trade is carried on amongst the West India islands, and the ports

of the southern continent.

About an hundredth part of the island of Cuba only is supposed to

be under a state of cultivation; the inhabitants, consisting of

Europeans and their descendants, and negroes; the amount of the

former being 338,000, and of the latter 212,000, making a total of

550,000 inhabitants.

A chain of mountains runs the whole length of Cuba, from east to

west, following the curvature of the country.

This chain divides the island naturally into two parts; though

these mountains do not acquire any very considerable elevation,

but give rise to numerous rivers which flow into the ocean on each

side, and sometimes, during the rainy season, inundate the low

lands.

Cuba, as all the other islands of these seas are, is exposed

occasionally to the devastating effects of hurricanes, but on the

whole it is more free from these, as well as from disease, than any

of the others, and may be looked upon as the healthiest, the most

fertile, and the most secure of the West India islands.

Cuba with the Floridas, comprises a capitaneria generale, styled of

the Havannah. The officer who holds this command has a very arduous

and extensive jurisdiction, during war particularly; he has in the

island eighteen subordinate governors, who preside over as many

districts, into which Cuba is divided. An intendant superintends

the finances and commerce of the island, and is subordinate

only to the captain-general. The religious affairs of Cuba are

superintended by a bishop, who resides at Havannah, and whose

income is considerable.

The revenues of the island of Cuba are said to amount to more

than two millions of piastres per annum, but the expences of

administration are so great, that it receives from Mexico 1,820,000

piastres during the same period. We have observed more on this

head under the article commerce, in the description of New Spain.

The military force of Cuba consists chiefly in militia, the

amount of which arm is stated to exceed 26,000; most of whom are

undisciplined. This island, notwithstanding the immense droves of

wild cattle and swine which roam about it, is supplied from the

Caraccas with provisions.

Cuba has also adhered to the royal cause.

HAVANNAH.

THE capital of this island is that well known town called the

_Havannah_, founded by Velasquez, in the commencement of the

sixteenth century, in 23° 12ʹ north latitude, 82° 14ʹ west

longitude, on the north coast, opposite to the Floridas.

The harbour is very fine, and capable of containing the largest

fleet in safety. This harbour and the town have been fortified as

strongly as possible; the Spaniards looking on this port as the key

of their North American possessions.

The only fault in this excellent port is, that the entrance is very

narrow and difficult; so much so, that during war, vessels have

been taken going in; on account of only one being able to pass at

a time, the rearmost vessels have fallen into the hands of the

pursuing ships, without their comrades being able to assist them.

This channel is however so strongly fortified during its whole

length, that it would be hazardous in the extreme, for an enemyʼs

fleet to enter. The mouth has a fort on each side; that on the

east, is called Moro Castle, on a high rock; which is a triangular

work, mounted with forty pieces of heavy cannon, having a battery

nearly level with the water at the foot of the rock; that on the

west is called Punta, and communicates with the city; this is a

square fort, strongly built, and well supplied with artillery.

The city is surrounded with works, mounted with numerous heavy

guns. A square citadel is erected, near the center of the town, and

is called El Fuerte; this work has also heavy cannon, and on this

the Spanish garrison and inhabitants place their chief dependance.

The captain-generalʼs palace is in it, and here the treasure is

deposited; and the fortifications are said to be commanded by hills

in the immediate neighbourhood.

The city contains eleven fine churches; two hospitals, a dock yard,

lazaretto, and numerous public buildings; an aqueduct supplies the

shipping with water, and turns the saw mills in the dock yard.

The town stands in a plain on the west side of the harbour, and the

houses, which are elegant, are mostly of stone. There are several

convents; and the great square is a fine ornament of the place.

The churches are highly and magnificently ornamented with gold and

silver lamps, images, &c. The manners of the inhabitants are said

to be more polished than in most of the American cities, and they

have societies for the encouragement of the arts and sciences.

During the stay of the fleet from Mexico, an immense commerce is

carried on, but at this time provisions are very dear; they are

in general high in price and difficult to obtain, owing to the

indolence of the natives, and the number of persons constantly

arriving here for the purposes of commerce from the interior, and

the other American ports: all the vessels from the east coast of

Spanish America, calling here on their way to Europe.

The importance of this city and harbour, has caused it to be

repeatedly attacked; it was taken in 1536, by a French pirate, but

ransomed for 700 dollars; it was again taken by the English and by

the French and by the Buccaneers; but the most memorable attack was

that executed by the British in 1762. Admiral Sir George Pococke,

and Lord Albemarle, conducted a fleet and troops to the Havannah,

and after a determined resistance of two months and eight days,

on the 14th of August, the Moro Castle and place surrendered,

as well as a district of 180 miles to the west of the town. The

victors captured nine sail of the line; three more were sunk by the

Spaniards; two on the stocks were burnt, and a great many merchant

vessels, loaded with valuable cargoes, completed the spoil. The

valuable merchandize and specie found in the place, was supposed

to amount to three millions sterling. Thus, after incredible

hardships, efforts of extraordinary valour, and a display of

unequalled judgment on the part of the commanders, did this gallant

force take this strong fortress; and were recompensed by the

applauses of their nation, the paralyzation of the enemy, and an

immense booty.

This city was restored to Spain at the peace of 1763; since which

period, the Government has been constantly employed in increasing

its strength and resources.

The trade of this port is computed to amount, by importations, (the

exportations being chiefly in sugar, wax and coffee,) to twenty

millions of piastres.

The inhabitants of the Havannah amount to 25,000, whilst the total

population of the island of Cuba is estimated to be about 550,000.

The other principal towns of Cuba are St. Jago, Puerto del

Principe, Bayamo, Trinidad, Batabano, Santa Cruz, Baracoa, and

Cadiz.

_St. Jago_, was formerly the capital of the island; it is situated

in 20° north latitude, and 76° west longitude, 269 leagues from

the Havannah. The country about St. de Jago de Cuba, or Cuba, is

mountainous, and this part of the island is frequently visited by

earthquakes, which are generally of a slight nature. The harbour of

Cuba is very good, and extends six miles inland; the entrance to it

is similar to that of Havannah, very narrow and long, and defended

by a castle called the Moro, and several batteries. Cuba is the see

of a bishop, who was formerly the suffragan of that of St. Domingo;

the bishop residing at present almost always at Havannah, and the

trade of the island being concentrated there, has reduced St. Jago

from its former splendour: It is still however a fine town, and

well peopled. The women are said to excel in beauty.

_Puerto del Principe_, or _Villa del Principe_, is 145 miles

north-west of St. Jago, in 21° 17ʹ north latitude, 77° 45ʹ west

longitude, and is remarkable for the fertility of the country

around it, where large droves of cattle are nourished by the

luxuriancy of the pasturage in the savannahs.

_Bayamo_, or _St. Salvador_, in 20° 46ʹ north latitude, and 76° 55ʹ

west longitude, is situated in the eastern end of Cuba, and on the

little river Estero, nearly twenty miles from the ocean. This town

gave its name to the Bayamo channel, which runs amongst the land

and low rocks, which Columbus called Jardin de la Reyna, or Queenʼs

garden.

_Trinidad_ is in 21° 42ʹ north latitude, and 80° 6ʹ west longitude,

on a bay in the south coast. Trinidad is a fine sea-port, but of

little consequence.

_Batabano_ is nearly opposite the Pinos Islands, on the south

side of the island of Cuba, near a very large bay, fifty miles

south-west of the Havannah.

_Baracoa_ is a sea-port, on the north-east shore of the island,

with an excellent harbour for vessels of small tonnage; it is

situated in 21° 4ʹ north latitude, and 76° 10ʹ west longitude;

about seventeen leagues north-east of Cuba, or St. Jago.

_Santa Cruz_ is a large town on the north coast, 30 miles east of

the Havannah, and 115 north west of Cadiz.

_Cadiz_ is situated in Cadiz Bay on the north coast of Cuba, 164

miles east of Havannah, and fifty miles north of Espiritu Santo, in

23° 2ʹ north latitude, 79° 55ʹ west longitude, and about ten miles

west of Cadiz river.

Round the island of Cuba are several groups of rocks, and one large

islet, named _Pinos_, which is situated near the south coast of

Cuba, and separated from it by a channel, sixteen leagues long,

and six wide; this island has several good and secure roads, but

is uninhabited, except by a few fishermen, who occasionally dwell

on its coasts. The only animals on it are goats, but it abounds

in pastures and large trees. Pinos is about 42 miles long, and 34

broad, in 21° 38ʹ north latitude, 82° 45ʹ and west longitude.

_ISLANDS NEAR THE COASTS_

OF NEW SPAIN AND GUATIMALA.

The islands belonging to Spanish North America near its coasts,

are numerous, both in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but most of

them are either uninhabited or unimportant from their being small.

Commencing on the north-east shores of the Intendancy of San Luis

Potosi, and proceeding along its maritime borders southward, we

meet with very numerous long strips of insulated land, the very

names of most of which are unknown; but from their situation, they

must be very fertile and will probably soon become of some use;

such are the islands in the bays of Galveston, St. Bernardo, at

the estuary of the great Rio Bravo del Norte, and on the coast of

New Santander; of these the island of _St. Luis_, which embraces

the above-mentioned bays, is one of the largest, with the island

of _St. Josef_, extending from the bay of St. Bernardo to Lake

Espiritu Santo, and _La Carbonera_, reaching from the same lake to

the Barra de Santander. On the coasts of the Intendancy of Vera

Cruz are the island of _Ramirez_ in the gulf or lake of Tamiagua, a

large isle in the centre, and the smaller island of _Tore_. In the

bay of Vera Cruz are the islands of _Sacrifices_, _Juan de Ulua_,

and others, which are small and sandy.

_Juan de Ulua_ was first visited by Grijalva, in 1518, who gave

it the name of Ulua, from having seen the remains of some human

sacrifices, which the natives told him they were in the habit of

offering here by order of the king of Acolhua. The interpreters who

only spoke the language of Yucatan called the Mayo, believed that

Acolhua or Ulua was the name of the island. A very strong fortress

called the castle of St. Juan dʼUlua now covers nearly the whole

rock, in the form of an irregular square, with advanced works

towards the sea front; the expense of finishing this fortress is

said to have been upwards of eight millions sterling; it contains

fine barracks, cisterns, and a newly erected giratory light-house,

placed at its eastern extremity, which was built according to the

plan of M. Mendoza, the astronomer, who lately died in London. It

consists of a high tower, on the top of which is the lantern with

the lamps fixed on a triangle, turning by means of clock-work; the

lights disappearing alternately, are supplied with a current of air

and reflectors. This beautiful building cost about 20,000_l._ and

is worthy of notice, on account of its utility in so dangerous a

navigation as the channel of Vera Cruz is at all times.

The island of _Sacrifices_ was so called, from the first

discoverers observing the numerous remains of the victims immolated

by the Mexican priests.

In the environs of the river Alvarado, several rivers descending

from the interior, form numerous islands at their junction with the

sea, and farther to the south are the islands of _Guascualco_ at

the mouth of the river of the same name and the island of _Tabasco_

on which that town is situated.

Near the boundary of the provinces of Vera Cruz and Merida or

Yucatan, in the lake or gulf of Terminos, are the islands of

_Triste_ and _Port Royal_; the former is on the south-west side

of the gulf and west of Port Royal, from which it is separated

by a narrow channel only. Triste, or as it is sometimes written

Trieste, is in north latitude, 18° 20ʹ, and is eighteen miles

in circumference, containing valuable mahogany and logwood, cut

annually by the British. Port Royal is smaller, and is also called

_Puerto Escondido_, having a small harbour, in north latitude 18°

22ʹ, west longitude 92° 86ʹ.

In the Intendancy of Merida, the western side has several small

islands off its shores; of these the dangerous rocks called the

Alacranes, are the chief, the others, such as Arenas, Sisal, &c.

are chiefly sand banks above water, most of which are well laid

down in the charts of the Mexican gulf.

To the north of Merida, and between Cape Catoche and False Cape,

are a group of islands, of which _Las Mugeres_, or Womenʼs isle,

is the most easterly; this isle is called Mohair Key in some maps,

owing to the pronunciation of the Spanish word for women having a

similar sound.

These islands were explored by the fleet under Cortez, in a storm

which drove one of his vessels into their harbours.

On the east of Yucatan is the Island of _Cozumel_, or _Cosumel_

forty miles long, and from three to ten in breadth, in 19° 40ʹ

north-latitude, 85° 51ʹ west longitude; which is very fertile, and

abounds in cattle and fowls. It is inhabited by an Indian tribe,

and was first explored by Juan de Grijalva, on the thirteenth of

April 1518, when he gave it the name of Santa Cruz, because it

was discovered on the day of the invention of the Holy Cross. On

landing here the natives fled to the woods, but they took two

old men in a field of maize, here they found an Indian woman of

Jamaica, who had been driven on the coast with her husband and nine

men in a storm; the natives had sacrificed all her party to their

gods, and she gladly placed herself under the protection of the

Spaniards.

The Island of Cozumel was again visited by Fernando Cortez shortly

afterwards, in his expedition to Mexico; he reviewed his troops

here on shore, and found them to amount to 508, besides 109 seamen.

The 508 soldiers were now divided into eleven companies, with ten

brass field-pieces, four falconets, thirteen musketeers, thirty-two

cross bowmen, and sixteen horses. Cozumel had at that time several

temples, one of which was in the shape of a square tower, hollow at

top, with four large windows or openings and galleries, in which

were many idols; at the foot was a wall with a sort of battlements,

and on this was a cross three yards high, drawn with white lime.

From these high buildings, and on account of the resemblance of

this white mark to a cross, Grijalva named the Island and adjoining

coast New Spain. It was here they first saw the pecari or sus

tajassu, a sort of hog, with its navel on the back, or rather an

open glandular orifice, discharging an oily fetid liquor, which is

cut out when the animal is killed, otherwise it would taint the

whole carcase.

The Spaniards having heard the word Castellano, repeated by the

Indians in the former voyages, Cortez enquired of the Caciques,

if any whites existed among them, and learning that there were,

he gave large presents to some of them and dispatched them to the

neighbouring continent to search for and bring any European who

might be there to him; he also sent two ships to Cape Catoche,

where the word Castellano had been most frequently heard; in

consequence of these exertions, which he doubtless made to gain a

knowledge of the interior from the captives, Jeronimo de Aguilar

gained his liberty, and went to another Spaniard, Alonzo Guerrero,

to obtain his freedom, and to solicit him to accompany him; but

Alonzo having married an Indian woman, by whom he had several

children, would not return to his countrymen; and Aguilar lost

so much time in endeavouring to persuade him, that the ships had

already sailed, the appointed time for their stay being only eight

days; but one of the ships having sprung a leak, the whole fleet

returned to Cozumel a few hours after they had left it. Aguilar now

crossed to the island in a canoe, and presented himself to Cortez.

He had nearly forgotten his native language, was so dark from the

burning climate, and almost naked, that it was with difficulty he

was recognised as a Spaniard; he carried a paddle in his hand,

and had an old prayer-book in a tattered bundle on his back; on

coming before Cortez, he squatted down on his hams after the Indian

fashion, and no one discovered that he was the Spaniard they were

seeking for. He said at last, that he was a native of Ecija, and

had been brought up for the church; but had been wrecked eight

years before, in a voyage from Hispaniola to Darien. He and his

companions in misfortune tried to reach Cuba in the shipʼs boat,

but were drifted by the currents on this coast, where the Indians

made them all slaves.

Most of them had been sacrificed to the idols; others, among whom

were two women, were worn out with disease and fatigue, and soon

died. Guerrero and himself were the only survivors; Aguilar had

been condemned to die, but had escaped to a friendly chief, who had

ever since protected him. He knew nothing of the interior, being

kept constantly employed in getting wood and water, and in the

cultivation of maize. Guerrero had adopted the Indian manners, and

had headed them in their attacks on the former navigators. Aguilar

was much employed by Cortez in the subsequent conquest of Mexico.

The great temple of Cozumel was served by a priest in a long

mantle, who addressed the people from the summit. They burnt

incense before the idols, which so enraged Cortez, that he ordered

his soldiers to destroy them, and made the Indians build an altar

on the top, on which he placed an image of the Holy Virgin; and a

crucifix being erected, one of the chaplains said mass, to which

the people paid much attention, and as it afterwards appeared,

burnt incense before the image and cross.

Cozumel was formerly inhabited by the Spaniards, at the ruins of

several buildings, situated in a wood of palm-trees, indicate.

_Ambergris Key_, or Ubero Island, is the next of any consequence

south of Cozumel. It lies in the Bay of Hanover, is seventy miles

long, but narrow, and nearly shuts in the mouth of the bay. It

is opposite to this island that the British logwood cutters are

settled; besides Ambergris Key, there are several smaller islands

in Hanover Bay.

The British settlements extend from the mouth of the river Hondo,

to the north of Hanover Bay. This bay is in 18° 45ʹ north latitude,

and 89° 15ʹ west longitude, where it receives the Rio Hondo.

_Turneff Island_, lies south of the former; is in 17° 16ʹ north

latitude, 88° 20ʹ west longitude; twenty miles in length, and ten

in breadth; abounding in cocoa-nut trees, and constantly frequented

by the fishermen of the adjacent coasts. This part of the coast, as

well as that of Vera Paz, and the gulf of Amatique, is also studded

with islets.

On the coast of Honduras, towards the northern part, lie the

islands of Utila, Ruatan, and Bonacao, of which _Bonacao_ is

supposed to be the _Guanaia_ of Columbus, the first island

discovered by him in his fourth voyage. He made his brother

Bartholomew land here, who found lapis calaminaris, which some

of the sailors supposing to be gold, concealed lumps of for a

length of time. He took a canoe full of people on board his ship,

which came from the adjacent continent, and obtained information

concerning it from them; but the land lying to leeward, he did not

attempt to explore it, and therefore held on to the eastward, and

discovered Cape Casinas, or Honduras. Bonacao, is about sixty miles

in circumference, lying in 16° 30ʹ north latitude, 86° 23ʹ west

longitude.

_Ruatan_ or _Rattan_, in 16° 24ʹ north latitude, and 87° 10ʹ west

longitude, is thirty miles long and twelve broad, with a fine

harbour. The island is surrounded with shoals; it was settled by

the British in 1741, for the purpose of carrying on the logwood

trade, but was soon abandoned.

_Utila_ is a small island to the south-west of Ruatan.

_The Swan Islands_ are a group at some distance from the

north-coast of Honduras, being chiefly barren rocks. Off Cape

Gracias à Dios, are a multitude of islets and shoals.

Misteriosa and Santanilla are at a still greater distance, nearly

in the middle of the gulf of Honduras.

_Santanilla_, consists of two small islands surrounded with rocks,

in 17° 20ʹ north latitude, 85° 30ʹ west longitude.

_Misteriosa_ to the north-west of these, seems to be a considerable

bank or shoal.

_Viciosas_ is a cluster of very small isles, in 15° 12ʹ north

latitude, and 84° 4ʹ west longitude, opposite to the Bay of

Carthago.

_Cocoa-nut keys and Carrantasca shoals_ are other small clusters,

to the north of Cape Gracias à Dios.

South of Cape Gracias à Dios are several groups of small islands

and rocks. Tangulaco, Man of War Keys, Pearl Keys, little Corn

Island, Great Corn Island, and a multitude of little islets, line

the eastern shore of Honduras.

_The Pearl Keys_ are a groupe of islets near Pearl Key lagoon, on

the Mosquito shore, in north latitude 11° 15ʹ, west longitude 83°

12ʹ.

St. Andres and Santa Catalina, or Old Providence, lie farther out

at sea than the last mentioned.

_St Andres_ or _Andero_ is situated, in 12° 30ʹ north latitude,

81° 40ʹ west longitude, south south-east of Cape Gracias à Dios,

and west south-west of _Providence Island_, which lies 80° 45ʹ

west longitude; and 13° 26ʹ north latitude, is eleven miles long

and four broad, with a good soil, excellent water, and pleasant

climate. It was formerly inhabited, as well as many other small

isles in these seas, by the Buccaneers, who fortified it. It

is said there are no serpents or venomous reptiles found here,

although it is near a continent in which they are so plentiful; at

present this isle is uninhabited.

Roncador, Serranilla and Serrana, are to the north-east of the last.

_Roncador_ is in 13° 45ʹ north latitude, and 79° 30ʹ west longitude.

_Serranilla_ Isles, are a cluster of small islands, in north

latitude 16° 10ʹ, west longitude 80° 10ʹ.

_Serrana_ or _Pearl Island_, so called from Serrana, a Spanish

navigator, who was wrecked on it, is in 14° 5ʹ north latitude, 78°

50ʹ west longitude. All these which lie to the east of Honduras are

small.

In the bay or lake of Chiriqui on the coast of Veragua, are several

groupes, of which Provision Island and Bocalero are the principal

ones.

The whole of the eastern coast of Spanish North America abounds

with islets, rocks, shoals and sand-banks, and there are

consequently but few good harbours; for although there are many

deep bays and gulfs, yet the entrances to them are in general

blocked up.

The western coast is in the contrary extreme, vary bold, and with

few Islands; in describing these we shall commence on the north off

the coasts of New California, where the first are the rocks, called

in Spanish the _Farallones_, in 37° 48ʹ 10ʺ north latitude, and

123° 1ʹ west longitude.

The next are the island of _Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo_, in 34° north

latitude, and 120° 31ʹ west longitude.

The island of _San Nicholas_ in 33° 16ʹ north latitude, and 119°

30ʹ west longitude.

The island of _San Salvador_ in 32° 43ʹ north latitude, and 118°

30ʹ west longitude.

Island of _St. Martin_, or _de los Coronados_, a small groupe in

32° 25ʹ north latitude, and 117° 18ʹ west longitude.

Island of _San Bernardo_ in 29° 40ʹ north latitude, and 115° 56ʹ

west longitude.

Island of _Guadalupe_ in 28° 53ʹ north latitude, and 118° 17ʹ west

longitude.

This last island is about thirteen miles long, composed of high,

rocky and naked mountains with two small islands, one about a mile

west south-west and the other two miles south of its southern

point. The latitude and longitude are that of its southern cape,

the island itself running thirteen miles farther to the north.

The island of _San Benito_ is small and surrounded with shoals; it

is mountainous, and its highest part is in 28° 18ʹ north latitude,

115° 46ʹ west longitude.

Island of _Cedros_ in 28° 2ʹ north latitude, and 115° 23ʹ west

longitude.

To the south, off the coast of Old California, the islands are not

so numerous; there are however, several very small ones in some of

the bays, and near the bay of La Magdalena one large one, named _La

Margarita_, of which nothing is known excepting that it is about

forty or fifty miles in length, and hilly.

On the east coast of Old California are several small islands,

much used in the former pearl fishery; of these, proceeding from

Cape St. Lucas to the extremity of the Vermillion Sea, are the

islands _Cerralbo_ and _del Espiritu Santo_, near the Mission de

la Paz; islands of _San Francisco_, and _San Jose_, with several

smaller ones. Island of _Santa Cruz_, island of _Montserrat_, and

island of _Catalina_, near Puerto Escondido, and a large island

near the coast of the Mission of Loretto; of these _Santa Cruz_ is

famous, as having been the abode of Cortez during his expedition

to California; he remained on it a considerable time, suffering

dreadful hardships, and losing the greater part of his followers by

famine and disease. Santa Cruz is in 25° 23ʹ north latitude, and

110° 47ʹ west longitude.

Island of _St. Lorenzo_ opposite Tiburon isle, and the

Island of _Santa Ines_, or _Angel de la Guarda_, a fine and

extensive tract.

In the estuary of the Gila and Colorado, at the extremity of the

gulf, another large island appears, but of it nothing certain is

known; descending the gulf of California on the eastern shore, off

the province of Sonora, are the islands of _Tiburon_, _Tortuga_,

_Lobos_, _San Ignacio_, and several smaller ones.

_Tiburon_ is the largest of these, and appears to be about sixty

miles in length.

Off the shore of the intendancy of Guadalaxara is the islet of

_Isabella_ in 21° 50ʹ north latitude, and 105° 56ʹ west longitude.

Islet of _Juanico_ in 21° 45ʹ north latitude, and 107° 41ʹ west

longitude.

_Piedra Blanca_ at the mouth of the Rio Grande de Santiago, and in

the port of San Blas, in 21° 33ʹ and 105° 17ʹ west longitude.

_Las Tres Marias_ abounding with wood, water, salt-pits and game,

which cause them to be frequented by the English and American

whalers; the French and English pirates used to winter in them,

when they cruised in the South Seas. The south cape of the

easternmost island is in 21° 16ʹ north latitude, and 106° 17ʹ

west longitude. They were named Islands de la Magdalena, by Diego

de Mendoza in 1532, and are occasionally visited by the Spaniards

from Saint Blas, for the flax and lignum vitæ they produce. South

of these, and near cape Corrientes, is the islet Isasvirivil in 20°

45ʹ north latitude, and 105° 57ʹ west longitude.

The Revillagigedo islands, which are a considerable distance

from the coast, are four in number. Santa Rosa, Socorro, Rocca

Partida, and San Benedito; their origin seems to be volcanic, as

pumice stones are found in them; _Santa Rosa_ is in 18° 37ʹ north

latitude, 114° 3ʹ west longitude. _Socorro_, the highest summit of

which is more than 3657 feet above the sea, is the largest of the

group, but not above fifteen or twenty miles broad and long, and is

situated in 18° 48ʹ north latitude, 110° 9ʹ west longitude. _Rocca

Partida_ is in 19° 4ʹ north latitude, 111° 5ʹ longitude. _San

Benedito_ in 19° 18ʹ north latitude, and 110° 53ʹ west longitude.

Socorro was visited by Captain Collnett, on the 20th September,

1793. He afterwards saw other islands of this group.

At Socorro no anchorage could be found near the shore, the coast

being exceeding bold and steep, except in a small cove where they

had only ten fathoms; which place he judged to be too insecure.

On this island, which consists of one very elevated summit and

several detached points, that have a singular and picturesque

appearance, the crew of his ship procured plenty of wild beans

and prickly pears; they also sowed all sorts of garden seeds and

some cocoa nuts. Leaving Socorro they went to San Benedito, or San

Berto, where they procured the same fruits: they then explored

Rocca Partida; its greatest length was fifty or sixty fathoms,

its breadth, thirty five, with two separated pinnacles, which

are about 120 feet in height, and look exactly like a ship under

jury-masts, when seen from afar: its distance from Socorro is about

forty-eight miles west. Here they saw a prodigious quantity of

fish, but could only catch a few, owing to the multitude of sharks

which destroyed their lines. A man reaching over the gun-wale of

the boat, one of these ravenous animals attempted to bite his hand

off, and they even seized the steering oar at the stern, so that

they were obliged to lay it in.

Man of war birds and seals were the only habitants of this dreary

rock. They steered from hence to the coast of California, and

returned to Socorro on the 25th of November, 1793; after examining

the coast they found a small bay on the south, with twenty-five

fathoms water and good anchorage; the surface of the island on

being explored, appeared to consist of a fine loose cinder,

excepting on the north-east, where the ground was more firm.

Captain Collnettʼs crew being very weak, and his ship in a bad

state, he staid here only long enough to procure fish and fruit,

and before his departure named the group Revillagegido, out of

compliment to the Viceroy of that name, who had treated him with

kindness whilst a prisoner at Mexico.

These islands were originally discovered by the Spaniards.

The whole coast from hence to Guaxaca and along the shores of

the kingdom of Guatimala presents no islands of any consequence

until we reach the extremity of Veragua, towards the south, where,

between Cape Dulce and Cape Mariato are the isles Zedzones,

Mentuosa, Quibo, or Caybo, and Quicaras; the first are merely small

barren rocks.

_Mentuosa_ rises to a considerable height, covered with cocoa-nut

and other trees, and is about five or six miles in circumference,

in 7° 15ʹ north latitude and 82° 40ʹ west longitude. The _Quicaras_

are two islets, one of which is seven miles, the other two or three

in length, and about twelve miles south of Caybo; they are also

covered with trees.

_Caybo_, or _Quibo_, was visited by Lord Anson, in his celebrated

circumnavigation of the world, on the 3d of December, 1741; when he

came to anchor near Canal Bueno, and staid here until the 12th of

the same month.

They found plenty of water and wood. The island is of moderate

height, and thickly covered with a forest of cassia, limes, &c.

Tigers, monkeys, wolves, and deer, abound, but were all extremely

shy. Parrots, parroquets, macaws, hawks and vultures were seen in

large flights; guanos, alligators of enormous size, the hawkʼs-bill

and green turtle were found in great numbers, and the shores

abounded with sharks, sea snakes, and various sorts of fish.

Venemous reptiles were common, amongst which was the dreadful

hooded snake. This island was afterwards visited by Captain

Collnett, in 1794, who was bitten in the knee by one of these

serpents, and continued for a length of time in great danger.

The writer of the voyage of Commodore Anson, speaks with great

delight of the beauties of this isle, and mentions a cascade in

the north-east part, which surpassed any thing of the kind they

had ever observed; it was formed by a river of transparent water,

rushing between rocks, over a ledge forty yards wide, and 150 in

length, overhung by beautiful tropical plants; a flight of macaws

passing over, and hovering about whilst they were observing this

fall, added, by the glittering appearance of their beautiful

plumage, to the singularity of the scene. The cedar trees were of

enormous size, and the place affords, from its good anchorages,

every facility to a distressed vessel cruizing in the Pacific.

The coast abounds with whales.

These are the last islands of Spanish North America in the Pacific

Ocean; with them we therefore conclude the description of that

portion of the trans-atlantic colonies of Spain.

END OF PART THE FIRST.